Canterbury Crown Court Sentencing Results

Benjamin Birch stole approximately £1,500 worth of goods from seven supermarkets across Kent between 29 July and 14 October 2019, committing 20 separate shoplifting offences. Items included meat joints, washing detergent, chocolates, razor blades, and gin. In one incident at a Faversham supermarket, he took at least 14 beef joints despite staff attempting to stop him. He used a walking frame to conceal items.

On 4 April 2019, Mbuta-Mapasa was with Robert Durao in Margate. He was stopped on Northdown Road and found with a phone believed to be a county line device used to advertise drug deals. He had travelled from London.

Basir Ramatullah, 21, steered an overcrowded dinghy across the English Channel for more than two hours with 53 other migrants on board before Border Force intercepted the vessel. He pleaded guilty to endangering others during the sea journey. The court heard the rib was overloaded and at least one person lacked a personal flotation device. His defence said Ramatullah, who was fleeing the Taliban, took control of the boat after a human trafficker abandoned it and another person gave up steering, having spent his life savings on the crossing.

On 26 June 2018, Francis waited for the victim, a woman in her 50s, at her home in Ramsgate. Despite her attempts to calm him, he threatened to smash her belongings and harm her. He followed her to another room and head-butted her in the face, causing facial injuries that required ongoing medical treatment. She fled to a friend's house and called police. Francis was arrested and later pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Allan Macdonald, 60, ex-policeman son-in-law of the victim's daughter, of Burnt Barn Cottages, Betteshanger, Kent, benefited from £57,000 stolen from dementia sufferer the victim's bank account by the victim's daughter, who held power of attorney. The money was spent on luxuries including cars, caravan, holidays, and other items.

Palushi was arrested alongside Hadushaj in Tunbridge Wells with 60 deals of cocaine and more than £8,000 cash in their vehicle.

Mataj acted as a street dealer for the gang, arrested with four wraps of cocaine and £1,200 during the police crackdown in Tunbridge Wells.

Alexandru Cercel, aged 39, formerly of Dagenham, was part of an organised shoplifting gang that stole at least £34,500 worth of champagne and spirits from supermarkets including Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, and Sainsbury’s. The gang targeted stores in Cambridge, Ipswich, Basildon, Beccles, Great Yarmouth, Norwich, Diss, Canvey Island, and Hertford between October 2021 and June 2023, stealing up to £3,000 worth of alcohol per raid and returning to the same store up to five times a day. Nine offences were in Norfolk and seven in Suffolk, accounting for £16,000 of stolen alcohol. He was arrested at Dover docks on 1 July 2023 trying to leave the country.

On the evening of Friday 28 April 2023, Andrew Maloney, 55, from Romney Marsh, was out in Lydd when he became aggressive towards a man at premises in the High Street who had intervened in a conversation between Maloney and a third man. Maloney produced a knife, causing a disturbance that other members of the public tried to calm. Despite the knife being moved to a place of safety, Maloney climbed over a counter to retrieve it before leaving the scene. An investigation led to his arrest.

On 1 June 2018, Christopher Godden was driving a grey Volkswagen Golf in Fordwich with two friends. He was speeding excessively with music blaring, causing passengers to fear for their safety. Despite being asked to slow down, he lost control near the junction of Moat Lane and High Street, crashing head-on into another vehicle. Godden fled the scene, leaving a 26-year-old female friend seriously injured with life-changing injuries and a 30-year-old male passenger also seriously hurt. He handed himself in at Folkestone police station the next day, admitting he was the driver. Police tests showed he was three times over the legal drug limit for BZE, a cocaine metabolite. He claimed he ran away due to shock.

Daryl Brown, 33, of Westgate-on-Sea, and Lewis Day took part in a brutal attack at Whitstable railway station on the night of 16 December 2023. The victim, a man in his 50s, intervened in a dispute involving Day, Brown, and a friend, leading to a confrontation where the victim was chased and repeatedly stabbed in a nearby alleyway. Following the attack, Day and Brown returned to the station where a witness overheard them arguing about the stabbing.

Craig Judd was involved in an altercation in Fulham Avenue, Garlinge in the early hours of Sunday 13 August 2023, during which he stabbed a man multiple times, causing grievous bodily harm. The victim was taken to a London hospital for life-saving treatment. Judd sustained an eye injury, was seen shouting before swinging a knife at the victim, and discouraged members of the public from helping the injured man.

Jayne Macdonald, 56, retired nurse and daughter of Margaret Rigby, of Burnt Barn Cottages, Betteshanger, Kent, benefited from £57,000 stolen from the dementia sufferer's bank account by Rigby, who held power of attorney. The money was spent on luxuries including expensive dental treatment, cars, caravan, holidays, and other items.

Kevin Andrews stole a Ford Transit Tipper from outside a property in Ashford, just after midnight on Sunday, 2 December 2018. He drove towards Maidstone on the A20, then joined the M20 motorway heading the wrong way, driving at up to 70mph towards London on the coastbound carriageway. He refused to stop, narrowly missing several vehicles and driving head‑on into oncoming traffic for over ten minutes, continuing onto the M26. He finally stopped on Vigo Road, Fairseat, then reversed the truck into a parked police car, causing significant damage and injuring two officers.

On Friday 3 November and Monday 6 November 2023, Joseph Kemp, 33, approached teenage girls in the Ashford Road area of Tenterden and made inappropriate comments to them. The girls reported the incidents and, following an investigation by the East Kent Vulnerability Investigation Team, Kemp was charged on Thursday 9 November.

Joszef Papp, a Hungarian lorry driver, was involved in smuggling 30 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of £2.4 million through Dover Docks. Border Force officers discovered the drug packages hidden in the HGV—10 in a fridge in the cab and 20 in holdalls. The conspiracy was uncovered when the lorry failed to stop at the exit checkpoint. Papp and his co‑defendant collected the cocaine from a contact in France and planned to deliver it in Hertfordshire. Both admitted the offence.

In June 2022, Jozef Balog, a 33-year-old Slovakian national, attempted to bring a Vietnamese woman into the UK by concealing her in a tiny, custom-built hideaway behind the dashboard of his modified Vauxhall Vectra. The vehicle was intercepted by Border Force officers at the UK Control Zone in Coquelles, Northern France. Officers noticed the passenger side carpet was out of place and dismantled the glove box, discovering the woman in cramped conditions. Balog claimed he was returning to his home in Manchester after visiting relatives.

Kurt Collins got into an argument with a member of staff at a shop in Snargate Street, Dover, on the evening of Sunday 16 September 2023 before leaving the store. The shopkeeper followed Collins outside and an altercation occurred while Collins was in his van and the shopkeeper was on the pavement. Collins then pulled over and started damaging the shop with a metal levelling edge from the back of his van but when the member of staff confronted him again, he hit the man with the tool and a bat. The assailant then left the scene, leaving the victim with serious head injuries which required treatment at a London hospital. Collins was quickly identified as a suspect by officers who attended the scene and he was arrested the same evening.

Lance Colston abused his ex-partner over a period beginning in October 2017. He head-butted her and slammed her against a wall. On 24 October he grabbed her by the throat, pinned her down, and head-butted her again. He later smashed dishes, broke her mobile phone, and punched her in the face following a row about money. On 10 November 2017 he subjected her to a prolonged attack, punching and kicking her repeatedly as she curled up on the sofa. After she reported the abuse to Folkestone Police Station on 13 November, her flat was found ransacked with bannisters broken, appliances smashed, TVs knocked over, a games console destroyed, and an oily substance smeared over plug sockets. He was arrested the next day and found guilty at Canterbury Crown Court.

On December 27, 2017, Kevin Jones, under the influence of drugs and alcohol, stabbed two women with a kitchen knife during a dispute in a home in Ramsgate, causing cuts to their arms. He then stole a vehicle, drove dangerously around Newington Road, mounting the pavement, narrowly missing two pedestrians, and crashing into a fence and tree. He reversed the car three times into a house wall, causing major damage. When a neighbour tried to stop him, Jones kicked and bruised him, and then knocked him down with the car. He also punched a paramedic who arrived to help.

On Saturday 6 January, 22-year-old Kieron McDonald-Gillet hurled a can of beer at his former partner with such force it fractured her hand. He continued arguing with her inside her home before grabbing a kitchen knife and slashing her across the ear, causing a permanent scar. He then smashed up her property before fleeing. The victim called an ambulance and reported the attack to Kent Police. Officers quickly located and arrested him nearby.